Systems Alliance Marine Corps Corsairs
The Systems Alliance Marine Corps Corsairs were elite airborne forces of the Systems Alliance Marine Corps, qualified for both airborne operations and orbital operations in the close and deep battlespace. Corsair Regiments were solely attached to Marine Expeditionary Brigades, and served as the forward deployment forces and contingency strike forces of entire Marine Expeditionary Forces. Corsair doctrine differed substantially from that of Marine Ground Divisions, the principal Marine warfighting forces, in that they emphasized unconventional methods of forced entry, stealth, mobility, and violence of action to specifically exploit an enemy's weaknesses and that they were capable of operating on adverse terrain and in adverse environmental conditions. Corsair operations were distinguished in their speed of action, violence of action, and their specificity. Colloquially, they were also known as the "Shock Troops" and the "Commandos". Capabilities Though they were not Special Operations Forces and did not receive the elitist "N" prefix for their Military Vocational Code, the Corsairs were elite infantry were not the traditional rifle infantry that comprised the bulk of a conventional Marine Division, which were responsible for full-scale warfighting. Instead, they were directly assigned to Marine Expeditionary Brigades or Marine Expeditionary Units, smaller Marine units of expeditionary nature responsible for contingency operations and acting as shock troops. To this end, Marine Expeditionary Brigades and Marine Expeditionary Units were not comprised of traditional infantry, but were rather formed around elite airborne infantry — Corsairs. In contingency operations or during Alliance strikes, the Corsairs were responsible for initial strikes and destabilization of the enemy, in order to prepare them for redundant assault by conventional infantry. Configuration The Marine Corsairs were organized into Corsair Regiments (Airborne), with one Regiment attached to each Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Of the three principal components of each Expeditionary Brigade, the Corsair Regiment fought alongside a Marine Forward Aircraft Wing and a Marine Forward Logistical Support Regiment, and was thus the principal surface warfighting force of the Expeditionary Brigade. The Forward Aircraft Wing established air superiority and provided aviation support to the Corsair Regiment, while the Forward Logistical Support Regiment provided combat support services, logistical support, signals support, and high-level medical support. The commanding officer of each Corsair Regiment was a , answerable to the Brigade's commander, a . The Corsair Regiment itself was comprised of one Headquarters Company and three Corsair Battalions, consisting of two Airborne Battalions and one . Though not Corsair units, other special-purpose units were attached to each Corsair Regiment to augment its activities: one Unconventional Warfare Company, one Combat Intelligence Company, and one Force Reconnaissance Company. Regiment Headquarters Company The Regimental Headquarters Company contained several components required for the command & control and support of the entire Corsair Regiment: the Command Platoon, the Fire Support Platoon, the Forced Entry Signals Platoon, and the Forward Medical Support Platoon. *The Command Platoon contained the commanding officer, the executive officer, the regiment noncommissioned senior chief, and five staff officers, an S1 (Administration), an S2 (Intelligence), an S3 (Operations), an S4 (Logistics), and an S5 (Plans). The regiment's executive officer was a , a Battalion Grade Officer, and served as the chief of staff to the commanding officer, organizing and coordinating the staff officers, and also served as the succeeding commander of the regiment in the event that the commanding officer was incapacitated. All the staff officers were , and performed their respective functions. The Regiment Senior Chief was an , responsible for the training and organization of the regiment's noncommissioned officer, and who fulfilled specific requests entrusted to him by the regiment commander. Besides the senior commanders and their staffs, the Command Platoon also contained several dozen junior officers and enlisted personnel who supported the five Staff Officers. *The Fire Support Platoon was led by the regiment's Fire Support Officer, a subordinated to the regiment's S3 (Operations), responsible for implementing and coordinating the artillery and air fire support efforts directed by the command platoon. The Fire Support Officer liaised with the attached Special Forces Unconventional Warfare Company's commanding officer, a , to coordinate the regiment's unconventional fires, that is, electronic warfare, psychological warfare, and other unconventional methods of warfare. *The Signals Platoon (Forced Entry) was a platoon-sized detachment from the Marine Expeditionary Brigade's Joint Signals Battalion, led by a . It was responsible for providing very high frequency radio and satellite communications capabilities for the Corsair Regiment in support of its forced entry requirement, and allowed the Corsair Regiment, as the first Marines to land on a hostile planet, to communicate back to their home Marine Expeditionary Force and Expeditionary Brigade in orbit. At least part of the Forced Entry Signals Platoon was attached to the forward-most Corsair combat formation of the regiment, and it also served to directly facilitate communications between the forward-most Corsair unit and the Corsair Regiment headquarters. *The Forward Medical Support Platoon was a platoon-sized detachment from the Marine Expeditionary Brigade's Field Hospital Battalion, led by the regiment's senior surgeon, a . The Forward Medical Support Platoon directly provided medical support to the Headquarters Company, and more importantly, coordinated health support for the entire Corsair Regiment. The Forward Medical Support Platoon contained several Forward Surgical Teams, containing a few expert surgeons, and a number of medical technicians and anesthesiologists. One Forward Surgical Team was attached to each of the three Corsair Battalions of the regiment, and provided advanced surgical support for severely-wounded Corsair Marines on the frontlines that were beyond the range of medevac to the central Field Hospital Battalion. Airborne Battalion Of the three Corsair Battalions subordinated to each Corsair Regiment, two were Airborne Battalions, comprised solely of elite airborne light infantry. Each Airborne Battalion was comprised of a Headquarters Company and three Rifle Companies. The Battalion Headquarters Company was comprised of a Command Platoon, a Forward Signals Squad, a Forward Medical Squad, a Forward Fire Support Squad, and a Support Services Squad. The Signals Squad was an detachment from the Forced Entry Signals Platoon from the Regiment-level, the Medical Squad was a detachment from the Forward Medical Support Platoon from the Regiment-level, and the Support Services Squad was a detachment from the Ground Support Services Battalion from the Marine Expeditionary Brigade's Forward Logistical Support Regiment. *The Command Platoon contained the battalion commander (a ), a battalion executive officer (a ), and staff officers, the S1 (Administration), the S2 (Intelligence), the S3 (Operations), the S4 (Logistics), and the S5 (Plans) — the S2 and the S3 officers were s, while the S1, S4, and S5 officers were s. Also attached were the battalion senior noncommissioned chief, a , the battalion chaplain, and a number of junior officers and enlisted personnel who assisted the various staff officers, mainly intelligence and operations assistants to the S2 and S3. *The Forward Signals Squad contained the battalion signals officer, a , the battalion signals chief, a , and nearly a dozen enlisted personnel who were communications operators and equipment technicians. The Forward Signals Squad was detached from the Regiment's Forced Entry Signals Platoon, and provided signals responsibilities to the entire battalion as well as travelled with the foremost combat element of the Corsair Battalion to provide forward signals coverage. *The Forward Medical Squad contained the battalion senior surgeon, a usually with several years' experience after medical school, as well as a number of junior medical officers and enlisted personnel. The Forward Medical Squad was detached from the Regiment's Forward Medical Support Platoon, and provided high-level medical support for wounded members of the battalion, and also operated as a Forward Surgical Team that was attached to the foremost element of the Corsair Regiment to provide surgical support for wounded Corsairs unable to be extracted by medevac. *The Forward Fire Support Squad contained the battalion Fire Support Officer, a who coordinated fire support efforts directed by battalion command, as well as several junior officers and enlisted personnel. The Forward Support Squad was divided into three Forward Fire Support Teams, each comprised of a handful of enlisted Marines that were detached to each subordinated Rifle Company to act as joint fire observers to request and direct supporting fires for the forward companies. *The Support Services Squad was detached from the Regiment's Forward Ground Support Services Battalion and provided food and metabolic sustenance for the entire battalion. It was commanded by the Senior Food Operations Chief, an . Of the battalion headquarters, the following elements were always attached to the foremost rifle company — a Command Cell (the battalion commander, battalion senior noncommissioned chief, and battalion S3 operations officer), the Forward Signals Squad (commanded by a ), the Forward Surgical Team (commanded by a ), and the Forward Fire Support Team (commanded by a ). The battalion commander and the battalion S3 (Operations) were always attached to the foremost rifle company in order to provide them with constant physical observation of the immediate battle, and to enhance their decision-making capability. The Forward Signals Squad allowed the battalion commander to communicate to the main command post, which was commanded by the executive officer in the absence of the commander, and also consisted of the S1, S2, S4, and S5 departments, which did not need to be in the frontlines. The commanding officer of the battalion was a . Due to the fact he was attached with the foremost rifle company and was involved in the immediate battle and was at significant risk of being killed or incapacitated, if the battalion commander was incapacitated in the course of his duties at the Forward Command Cell, the executive officer of the battalion, a , who was positioned at the Main Command Post behind the front-lines, was automatically promoted to battalion commander. In the event of the death or incapacitation of the executive officer, the S3 (Operations), a , was promoted to the battalion commander. If the commanding officer, executive officer, and operations officer were all killed, the battalion was designated at approximately two-thirds combat-effective and was generally considered "combat-ineffective" and was recommended for immediate withdrawal lest the entire battalion suffer massive casualties. Training Due to their special mission requirements, though they were not technically "Special Forces", Corsairs received intensive and brutal training, and were regarded as second only to true Special Operations Capable units. Entrance into the Corsairs required successful passing of a unique Selection and Indoctrination course, the Corsair Indoctrination Course, and this pipeline allowed for selection of only the most veteran Marine infantry to join Corsair outfits. Both Richard Gregory Self and Jacob Taylor served as Corsairs. Due to the elite nature of Corsair personnel, the Alliance Intelligence Command often recruited Corsairs for special assignments and covert actions — this was the capacity that Jacob Taylor served in. Heritage The Marine Corsair units were established in honor of the former and deactivated U.S. Army Rangers from Earth, who were also elite airborne light infantry tasked with special mission requirements. The distinctive unit insignia of the Corsairs carried on the shoulder patches of their uniforms was adopted from the former U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. The Corsairs were named after the corsairs of hundreds of years past, who were notorious pirates of the high seas when human beings used to principally use the seas as their main means of transportation. See Also *"Corsair" on Mass Effect Wikia